Iain Matthews – Excerpts From Swine Lake

Three decades have passed since Iain Matthews (along with Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny and company) helped make Fairport Convention’s first two records among the most important albums of the ’60s. Brief stints with Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong (the latter of which has been revived recently by Matthews, Clive Gregson and Julian Dawson) segued into a solo career that includes well over a dozen albums of melodious folk/pop.

The trademarks of Matthews’ best work — lush, rolling pop tunes and his warm, lilting tenor, still remarkably intact — are amply in evidence on Excerpts From Swine Lake. The lyrical focus remains on tales of longing and philosophical examinations of love’s presence and absence on the soul.

The potential lameness of this approach is readily obvious, and some of his lesser work in bygone days brought that painfully to the fore. But, especially since 1988’s luminous Walking A Changing Line (an entire album of Jules Shear covers), Matthews has displayed a markedly heightened attention to his wordsmithing, the result being truly moving introspection that’s devoid of self-pity, bitterness or recrimination.

There’s no idealized puppy love here; the subjects are adult, workaday relationships that struggle to keep the balance of give-and-take leaning toward the plus side. On “Dance Of Fate” (“We call it love, but still I find/What’s on my lips is rarely on my mind”), it’s simply the wistful, resigned recognition of a standoff.

The tracking order displays deft, well-thought-out pacing, and the songwriting (particularly “Horse Left In The Rain”, “Cave In”, “Where The Big Dogs Run” and the soaring “Even If It Kills Me”) ranks among the best and most consistent of Matthews’ long career. Excerpts From Swine Lake is, in short, testament to a special talent who has gone beyond merely enduring to ratchet his art up a couple of notches.